orkouts as opposed to diet are responsible for tearing muscle tissue, preparing the body to adapt to future strenuous exercise by building up more muscle tissue. The body is adaptable in the sense that it prioritises allocation of resources (matter and energy) based on one’s lifestyle. In order to instruct the body to gain strength, the natural solution (no doping) is to make the body expect regular exercise of a particular type. Depending on the type of exercise one chooses, the muscles will be built from one’s pertinent amino acids acquired through nutrition. The diet and the exercise are inter-dependent in the sense that particular types of exercise (short but high intensity) typically result in greater muscle bulk, which then requires a lot of protein. Nutrition is a separate subject, however, and it complements one’s choice of workout. Improper choice of foods given a particular body and exercise type can result in obesity; conversely, improper choice of exercise given one’s culinary lifestyle can result in lack of progress (e.g. stamina, strength).

Broadly speaking, exercise which is long and constant improves endurance, which makes muscles lighter and capable of delivering power for lengthy continuous periods, i.e. no intervals, whereas short, high-intensity workout (like set compromising about 10 repetitions) trains the muscles for delivering big bursts of power. Some favour the former type of exercise because it leads to leaner and more athletic figures while the latter provides bulk, size, weight, and strength. The former is likely to burn more calories (within a given and fixed time period) than the latter.

Dead-lifts are an absolute must in every workout program and is an exercise directly related to strength. If you can do heavy dead lift then you are most likely very strong. They are however a high risk exercise and if not conducted correctly can result in injury, therefore technique is essential and the first set on this exercise must be conducted at very light weight just to get the correct posture and technique. Once comfortable with the lifting action I tend to pile the weight on and finish off on 190Kg for 2 reps.

Remember to reduce reps as you increase weight, for example.

1st set @ 15 reps of 60kg

2nd set @ 12 reps of 100kg

3rd set @ 10 reps of 130kg

4th set @ 6 reps of 160kg

5th set @ 2 reps of 190kg

The above formula should be followed for the BIG 3 EXERCISES if the goal is size and strength. These are:

Bench Press

Dead-lifts

Squats

Obviously the weight will vary on each depending on someone’s specialization or people who are naturally good at certain exercises. In my case squats are my heaviest at 220kg for 2 reps.

2nd exercise4 sets of bent over rows (overhand grip)

The trick with this exercise is to keep the bar as close to your legs as possible and make sure you lower the weight as far down as it takes to straighten your arms fully so the pressure is on your back instead of your biceps.

Again start light with high reps and finish heavy on low reps.

3rd Exercise 4 sets of seated cable rows

The key to this exercise to to keep the elbows tucked in as close as possible to your body. Same concept as before regarding weight and reps.

That concludes the back thickness section of this workout. Now on to wideness (lats) and biceps.

4th Exercise 4 sets of wide grip pull ups

If you are not strong enough yet to lift your own bobywieght you can always do 4 sets of Lateral pull downs as shown below.

5th exercise 4 sets of Concentrated bicep curls

This is by far the best biceps growing exercise. Try not to let the weight rest on bench. Keep that strain on the muscle. Also remember full movement in order to gain full mass and strength.

6th Exercise 4 sets of wide grip barbell curls

7th Exercise 4 sets of hammer bicep curls

Make sure the movement is controlled. Do no bend your back and knees in order to throw the weights up.

That concludes my back and biceps workout. It usally takes just under 2hours to complete.

I will try and give you a brief look into my chest and triceps workout.

1st exercise

5 sets of flat bench press

I always start off very light on my first set, which I class as warm up, it usually consists of 15 reps of 60Kg.

I then start piling on the weight and lowering the reps on each set I do. By the 5th set I usually finish off doing 2 reps at 170Kg. My personal best is 200Kg.

Technique is very important at the start of this exercise in order minimize injury. So I tend to do more of a body-builders bench press on the first 4 sets. On the 5th I aim to shift as much weight as possible so I adopt more of a power-lifters press which is slightly different in posture and positioning.

Second Exercise

4 Sets of Incline bench/dumbbell press

Okay, so here I follow the same concept as before but I tend to skip the warm up set and usually start at 80kg on my 1st set and end up on 140kg on the last set.

Please note the bench should be placed at a 30 degree angle for maximum target on the upper chest.

3rd exercise

4 sets of decline bench/dumbbell press

Following same concept as incline bench press. The Bench should be set at -30 degree angle for maximum impact on lower chest.

4th exercise

3 sets of flat bench dumbbell flyes

I usually start off very light with 12 reps and finish off on 6reps in a heavy weight.

5th exercise

3 set of incline dumbbell flyes

I increase the bench to 30 degrees and repeat the same as flat flyes.

6th Exercise

5set of Flat bench skull-crushers with ez bar.

Technique is very important as this exercise requires a lot of balance, so I always start of very light, usually at 20kg 15 reps and finish off on 50-60 kg on 6 reps.

7th exercise

4 Sets of standing Tricep press down

Yet again following same concept of starting light on high reps and finishing heavy on low reps.

8th exercise

4 sets of weighted dips

I start of with just my own body weight and finish off with a 30kg weight between my legs on the last set.

And that concludes my chest and triceps workout. It usually lasts around 1hour 30 minutes. Rest between sets is between 1 to 3 minutes.